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The Physical Layer - Readings

Computer Networks (3^rd Ed), A. Tanenbaum, Chapter 2

• Required:
  • Sec 2.2 - all except for the bit about dispersion and solitons at the bottom of page 89.
  • Sec 2.3 - all except the parts in 2.3.1 involving the formulas for lambda, f and c.
  • Sec 2.4 - intro, 2.4.1, 2.4.3 (up to the first 3 lines on page 111, the rest just follow the lecture notes), 2.4.4 (all except the section SONET/SDH), 2.4.5 (all before the section The Switch Hierarchy).
  • Sec 2.5 - all
  • Sec 2.6 - intro, 2.6.1, 2.6.2
  • Sec 2.8 - all.
• Optional (not required for exam, but is good for you to know)
  • Sec 2.4.3 - after the first 3 lines on page 111, including section RS-232 and RS-449.
  • Sec 2.4.4 - section SONET/SDH, p125.
  • Sec 2.7
• Avoid (for the sake of your sanity)
  • Sec 2.1 - the only thing you need from this section is Figure 2-1, which I use in the lecture notes on signals. If you have some mathematical background, I would be happy to go through the details with you. If not, this section is a recipe for total confusion.

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